are these things necessary for my baby?

Question

I am looking at wipe warmers for the baby. Are these necessary? Seems like it is doing nothing more than spoiling the baby with a warm butt. Also, it would be setting him up for getting angry when I don't use warm wipes when I am not at home.

Also, I am looking at baby swings. We bought a bouncy seat already, but I was wondering if spending $100+ on a baby swing is really a necessity or will my bouncy seat be ok? What kind of swing do you have?

What are some of the best baby products that your money was well spent on.

Thanks in advance!!

Answer 1

we actually didnt buy a wipe warmer at first, but our baby cried so much with wet wipes and we had to get it. so i would say it depends on the baby. the one we bought had the heater thing on the top not the bottom so we never had dry wipes. actually it was always very wet.

the swing was a life saver, luckily our baby loved it and fell asleep in it often. it was the fisher price take along swing http://www.etoys.com/genProduct.html/PID/3412459/ctid/17?ci_sku=213860&ci_src=14110944 he also liked the baby mobile for the crib. he watched it for a while and i was able to lay down for a little.

the bouncy seat was good as well. i usually used it to put him in when i was in the shower. i just put him in the bathroom with me and left the door open so my hot shower wouldnt affect him. (that was until he got big and started trying to get out)

Congrats on the baby =) hope this helps

Answer 2

Wipe warmers are a life saver for the middle of the night. That's the only time I used them. That way you can change the baby's diaper and not wake them up too much, and as long as the lights stayed off, my daughter would go right back to bed. I didn't use them any other time. If you leave the wipe warmer on too long, it dries the wipes out anyway. As for a swing, I only used that for the first couple of months when the baby wanted to be held and I was busy. A bouncy seat usually works just as well. Congrats and good luck!

Answer 3

I didn't bother with the wipes warmer and my baby is doing just fine.

We received a bouncy chair and a swing and we use both interchangeably. It really depends on the kid. Some kids don't like one or the other so you won't know whats useful for you. I have the fisher price rainforest swing which is great cause it plugs into an outlet instead of using batteries, which can be a pain.

At first, my baby didnt take to either product. Over time, she's learned to get used to it and now she falls asleep in the swing. It's great! It was such a surprise, because in the beginning we were lucky if she stayed in the swing for a minute or two. Now I can have her in there for about 30-45 min. I use the bouncy chair sometimes if I need to put the baby down to do something or get dressed real quick. She's okay with the bouncy chair for smaller periods of time. I really think my baby likes the swing better.

I try to switch it up, keeping the baby interested in both so I use them pretty equally. I found that having the both products help me keep the baby stimulated and interested, while I try to do some quick tasks around the house, especially since I am home alone with the child during my maternity leave.

Honestly, if you don't get a baby swing, you will be fine too. People do fine without all the extra products. They are handy to have around when you can't carry the baby all the time or need a few minutes to put your child down so you can grab something to eat or run to the bathroom.

One thing we use a lot too, in addition to the swing and bouncy chair, is the Bjorn Baby carrier. My husband and I use it around the house. It really saves your arms when your baby needs the extra cuddles and wants the company. The cutest site was coming home to seeing my husband moping the floor while carrying my daughter in front of him. The baby needed company, and my husband wanted to take care of some chores while I was grocery shopping and its great! I use it when I'm by myself too, and I can still cook and do things around the house too. We've brought it out to peoples homes too, in case the baby needs to be walked around a lot for entertainment. When the spring comes, we look forward to using the Bjorn carrier outside too.

Answer 4

I think wipe warmers are a waste of money. Not only are the unnecessary, but they dry out the wipes faster and you have to buy more wipes.

We have a Fisher Price Swing. It was OK for our first, but our second hasn't spent a minute in it--we wear our baby in a baby sling, they are so much happier and we still get stuff done.

It's your call on the swing, lots of people like them, but I thought it was so bulky and we just don't have a lot of room in our place. A sling was a better choice for us since it's so versatile (folds up small, great for traveling, easy for nursing on the go.)

We used our bouncy seat ALL the time! It was a great alternate nap place, and made the newborn super portable when we weren't wearing him. I couldn't find a plain one (the ones with the toys are awful, just take the bar off or you'll accidentally hit it every time you put the baby inside and wake up the baby.

In my experience, the Boppy pillow is well worth every penny. We use it everyday all day long. I also love my Hotsling, I get so many compliments and it's so handy.

Answer 5

You could hold off on the swing until you find the baby can't be soothed, then have someone run out and get a swing. we got a travel swing from a consignment shop and it works just as well as the monster sized ones. I got a wipe warmer for a couple bucks there too. my first winter baby didn't have that luxury but was fine. I really like using it on this baby though. I'm happy we got it.

one thing I wish I didn't bother with was the bassinet. i got it from a yard sale but i wish i had gotten a moses basket or whatever they're called. something he can sleep in but you can also transport him around the house in easily.

so far my one month old isn't too crazy about his swing, crib or bouncy seat. I've been putting him to sleep in his carseat every night lately.

I would say a baby bjorn or something similar is a lifesaver- but expensive.

Answer 6

I still use my wipe warmer and my toddler is 21 months......to me that was a necessity. She puked down my shirt once (reflux baby) and I grabbed a wipe and stuck it down between my boobs. I almost yelped it felt so cold.........wipe warmers are a nice gesture for an otherwise helpless peanut. I should say we had a Dex......it was a top warmer which made ALL the difference. It only warmed the top few wipes, the condensation dripped back down so they never dried out, and it accomodates the "pop-up" wipes (like Kleenex come out of the box) and the other ones.

I loved the swing. she was NEVER in her bouncer......I would put her in it and she would look at me like "why am I in here?" but she loved being in her swing.

#1 Invenstment:
The Fisher Price Aquarium Crib Soother.
she went in the crib at 5 weeks, she STILL uses it at 21 months. I use the lights/music setting so that the gentlle glow and really pretty lullaby music softly drift her to sleep. she is now old enough to turn it on herself (just push the big blue shell on the front) and will actually turn it on when she wakes up at night. she LOVES it......she always has. The lights fade in and out as the music plays, so the crib seems warm and inviting. and it plays for a full 10 minutes. I would reccoment this to ANYONE. I only bought it because she could not lay on the back of her head to see her mobile. this seemed cool because it went on the side of the crib. little did i know how much she would depend on it. I even got one for my mom's house (she has a crib as we stay fairly often) and she uses it there too. I have plans to keep it on her toddler bed rail, and joke that she will take it to college. only about $30 and used EVERY NIGHT for almost 2 years.....SO worth it!!

Answer 7

Dont bother with the wipe warmer. I have never used it.

Definitely spend the money on the swing. It's a lifesaver. Trust me. I thought at first that the bouncy seat would be enough, but it wasnt. My daughter was colicky at 3 weeks and the only thing that worked was the swing.

Also, by a white noise cd. Very soothing for little ones when they are crying. It calms them right down. At first I had to use a blow dryer to get the effect, then I spent the $12 to get a cd and it works like magic!!! Good luck.

Answer 8

The bouncy seat (that vibrates) was worth its weight in gold! Good call there.... we bought a wipe warmer and never took it out of the box - it went back to the store.
We have a baby swing, but I almost wish we hadn't spent the money on it... my son got bored with it pretty quickly and we haven't used it in weeks (he's almost 7 months, btw). Some parents swear by them (like I do the bouncy seat), so I certainly wouldn't rule it out...
If you can find them (I got them as a gift), Carter's has some plush sports rattles - we have both the football and baseball ones. They are soft and cuddly, have a handle that's easy for a little one to pick up, the rattle - but not obnoxiously, and they are machine wash & dry - it's one of the most used/practical things we have!
Also, my kid likes ANYTHING with music - and it doesn't matter what kind of music... we never go anywhere w/o a CD player and some classical music - that calms him down no matter what.
Good luck and congratulations!

Answer 9

I have a wipe warmer and 2 children.....I have NEVER used it. LOL I always set it up with all intentions of using it, and then quickly forgot about them, only remembering when the warmer was unearthed weeks later and the wipes were dried out and disgusting.

We never had a swing with out first, and we were fine. We used the Fisher-Price Infant to Toddler rocker, and that thing was great!

With our 2nd we had a swing and bouncy seat(hand me downs); and we rarely used EITHER of them. Our youngest preferred to be carried around in our sling, which is STILL used almost daily, at a year old.

Answer 10

Wipe warmer: waste of money. As a newborn, I didn't even use wipes with my babies because it caused a horrid diaper rash. I ended up using soft paper towels that I wet with warm water in the sink.

Unless our babies pooped in the middle of the night- we didn't change their diapers. They were both breastfed and after the newborn phase, they didn't need to be changed at night. As soon as they woke up though.

Baby swing: a good investment.
Infant seat: a good investment
Sling: a better investment
www.hotslings.com
www.newnativebaby.com
www.mayawrap.com
www.babyhawk.com
www.mobywrap.com

I think we had an evenflo swing. Our daughter wasn't in hers much, but our son was. He loved the motion. Some babies really unwind in it though. I'd buy one because they are handy when you are doing something and they cannot be in the sling. Ie cleaning the bathroom and cooking dinner with a sling- not the mei tei.

Oh- classical music C.D.s. Our son recommends Beethoven, Bach, and Mozart.